First Creek 'Botanica' Chardonnay 2018
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Winery
First Creek Wines
This week I am sipping on a Semillon from First Creek in the Hunter Valley. Semillon is a thing of beauty really. Drunk young it's fresh with juicy acidity, apple, pear, and loads of bright citrus notes. Kept in the cellar and it will reward you in 5, 10, and 20 years. As it develops it gets (I think) a little grassy, the acidity is less prominent and notes of honey start to form. Pick this up from winedirect.com.au at a bargain of $22 a bottle and the only thing you will complain about is having not bought 6-12 bottles!
Looking for a dish to impress but leave you with plenty time to enjoy the evening too? Look no further than this quick n simple crab linguine. Bursting with fresh crab, spice from the chili and citrus flavours it’s like there is a party in your mouth!!
Ingredients
2 red onions, thickly sliced 1 tablespoon sea salt, or to taste 4 cloves garlic, sliced ½ teaspoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped 50g hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped 100g butter, softened 1.6kg free-range chicken sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 lemon, slicedMethod
Placing herbs and nuts under the chicken’s skin gives this dish its wonderful flavour and crispy texture. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan-forced). Line a baking dish or cast-iron dish with onion slices (the dish should be just large enough to hold the chicken). Gently pound the salt, garlic, peppercorns and olive oil in a mortar and pestle. Gradually add the parsley and hazelnuts and pound to a rough paste. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and stir in the butter.
First Creek have exceptional vineyard resources in the Hunter Valley, Orange and Hilltops regions of NSW. In a roundabout way they began when Greg Silkman bought The Tamburlaine winery in 1986, then went on to acquire Allanmere Wines before buying up even more high quality vineyards. Winemaker Liz has an amazing palate which is evident by her being awarded dux of the prestigious Len Evans tutorial, which James Halliday describes as the most exclusive wine school in the world. She has also been crowned Winemaker of the year at the Hunter Valley Legends awards.
We can very happily vouch for their quality, as does James Halliday. Halliday rates First Creek Wines as a 5-red star producer, and offers the following… ‘The quality of the wines has been consistently exemplary, and there is every reason to believe this will continue in the years to come.’
